The Relevance of Health Reform to Community Health and Development

Author(s): Peter Long and Neal Halfon

Over the past twelve months, Congress and the nation have been engaged in a discussion about how to make significant changes in the provision of health insurance and the financing of health care in the United States. The debate has seen its highs and lows: from the raucous August town hall meetings and charges that the reform would institute “death panels” for the elderly and lead to government-run health care to more candid conversations about the affordability of health insurance for typical Americans and the real impact of an inefficient and underperforming health-care system on the U.S. economy.